Aftermath
by Pagan Ianthe
Summary: Veronica just seems incapable of confrontation. Sometimes she really should stop running away from things she doesn't want to face. Spoilers up to and including S01E18 (Weapons of Class Destruction), unfortunately avoidance doesn't always work and every time she is anywhere near him she can't seem to ignore her heart.
1. Part 1

Title: Aftermath  
Rating T  
Pairing: Veronica/Logan  
Spoilers: Up to Weapons of Class Destruction (ep 1.18)  
Summary: Veronica seems to keep on just running away.  
Disclaimer: All characters from Rob Thomas' creation that you recognise are his property, and the property of the WB.  
Feedback: Please :)

_*What made me do it?*_ Logan sat in his car, banging his head against the steering wheel as he tried to figure out what strangeness had made him actually act out his desires. _*Is insanity contagious?*_ Thinking about his best friend he felt a pang of guilt. He had just kissed Veronica, the love of Duncan's life. Sure, Duncan had moved on, he had Meg now, but that didn't mean his love for Veronica had just vanished into the ether.

After a few moments of staring up at the balcony where _it_ had happened, Logan turned the key in the ignition and, after the engine had warmed a little, drove off in the direction of his room – perhaps a few sips of vodka would help clear his head.

Sitting in his bedroom, a half-empty bottle of Stoly dangling from one hand, Logan stared at the photo album he had shoved under his bed over a year before. Lilly's face smiled at him from photos taken on a long ago summer evening spent frolicking on the beach. He turned over a few pages until he came to the picture he had been looking for, Veronica and Lilly, posing teasingly, half-smiles on their pouting peach-tinted lips. He groaned and dropped the book as more recent images of Veronica filled his head.

The kiss should be filed away under 'Never-to-be-mentioned again' but he couldn't do that, not when all he wanted was more. "Fuck," he almost yelled the word when the neck of the Stoly bottle broke in his hands, sending a sharp shard of glass into the palm of his hand.

The old Logan, the one who cared nothing for anyone – especially himself, would have driven to the hospital, even in the inebriated state that he was in to get care. The new Logan, the one who had so many thoughts going through his head, knew that he couldn't drive in the state he was in. With a drunken smile on his face he pulled his cellphone from his pocket and quick-dialled Veronica's number.

_*What made me do it?*_ Veronica flung herself down face first on her bed, pummelling her pillow with curled fists. _*Am I going insane?*_ She rolled over onto her back and fought back the urge she had to smile. The kiss had been wonderful, hot, sweet, his lips were so much softer than she thought they would be _*I'm lost, I was actually thinking about how soft his lips didn't look!*_

Pulling a heavy pink nail varnish—speckled photo album from the hallowed spot underneath her bed, Veronica started to flick through the thick plastic photo-covered pages until she reached the page of photos of Lilly and Logan. They had all really been hamming it up for the camera that day. Logan had had just a tiny bit too much to drink, and Lilly hadn't been too far behind him. Duncan had been standing off to the side just watching all of the events like a disinterested bystander. As much as Veronica didn't like to admit it, Logan had been one of her best friends back then, someone she could rely on to make her laugh. Sure, she knew that he had his problems, but then didn't everyone?

She brushed her fingers slowly, sadly, over Lilly's face, guilt churning in the pit of her stomach as she recalled the feel of Logan's lips against her own. Closing the book and carefully placing it back under her bed, she allowed herself the luxury of remembering the kiss again, her fingertips resting on her slightly swollen bottom lip. _*Stop that, Veronica…you really can't be doing this!*_

The phone in her back pocket vibrating was enough to startle out of her mini reverie and she was immediately alert as she answered the call.

"Logan." She wasn't ready to speak to him yet, but she could hardly ignore the call, what if it was something important?

"Ronnie, can I ask you something?" his words were slow and slurred.

Twisting her fingers in the loose tie of her belt, she considered telling him that she wasn't ready to talk right now, but it was obvious that he was drunk, and it didn't take too many guesses for Veronica to realise why he had been hitting the drink. "Are you sure you want to talk right now?" her voice was breathy, full of unacknowledged anticipation.

"I cut my hand," he finally spoke after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the words sounded mournful, and almost childlike.

Immediately Veronica shifted from cautious mode to concerned, "You what? Logan, where are you?" All thoughts of the kiss went out of her head. What if he was seriously hurt? She couldn't afford to lose someone else that she cared about. _*So now you care about Logan Echolls? Since when?*_

"I broke a bottle," Logan was rambling now, nonsense that Veronica was having a few problems understanding, stuff about Lilly and Duncan, and his father, then, out of the blue he asked the one question that she had been hoping he would never ask, "why did you kiss me?"

Veronica was already heading out the front door, keys in hand, when he asked her this. She had no idea what frame of mind he was in or anything, and the last thing she wanted to do was push him even closer to the edge that he had been teetering over since Lilly's death. "Because I wanted to," even as she said the words she realised the truth of them. She _had_ kissed him because she had wanted to see how it felt to be close to someone without them coming up with corny lines _*Like Leo!*_ or admitting their fear of her father _*Again like Leo!*_.

Sitting outside the Echolls' house, Veronica was half-tempted to drive home, she didn't know if she could face him right now. The light was on in the pool house, and she knew that is where he would be, that is where he always was. The pool house was sort of Logan's domain, filled with his junk, memorabilia from 10 years of being 'Mr Popular' at school; trophies, yearbooks, photos, all the things that Veronica had packed away long ago.

Avoiding the security light just to the left of the grand front entrance, she walked around to the half-glass half-brick extension and peered through the window. She could see Logan lying on the double day-bed, a piece of faded blue towel wrapped around his left hand, resting on his taut bare stomach, the other hand behind his head.

Steeling herself, Veronica knocked lightly on the glass door and pushed it open, "Logan…" She walked further into the dully-lit room, her hands buried deep in her jacket pockets.

Logan had heard the car pull up on the gravel driveway, and knew it was her. He had known that she would come if he called, purely because that was the sort of person she was. She never forgot to pay back a debt, and believed that everyone had a right to justice, no matter who they were. He watched her moving across the room from beneath lowered lashes, the pain in his hand distracting him from what he really wanted to do.

She stood at the end of the bed staring at him in silence for a few minutes, feeling uncomfortable and unsure of what to say. This wasn't a normal situation. How many girls could say that they had kissed the boyfriend of their dead best friend, the best friend of their ex-boyfriend? How many girls could say that no matter how guilty they felt about it, they wanted to do it again?

She could see blood seeping slowly through the makeshift bandage on his hand, and instinctively sat down on the floor beside the bed, taking his hand in hers and unwrapping the towel to look at what he had done. Her face a little flushed, she lowered her eyes and stared intently at the superficial gash on the palm of his left hand. She didn't want him to see that she had been staring at his slightly skinny, but still pretty well toned chest and abdomen. It had been over a year since she had seen him sitting on the beach enjoying the sun without a shirt, and it was obvious that in that time he had done something to try and make a difference to his naturally rather boyish form.

Swallowing back a groan as Veronica's fingers explored the cut on his hand, Logan kept his eyes closed, the hand behind his head clenched tightly as he fought against the desire he had to pull her onto the daybed with him. Ever resourceful, she dipped a corner of the towel in vodka and dabbed the cut with it, ignoring his quiet gasp of pain as the alcohol sank into the still-bleeding gash. "Hey, watch it, Ronnie, I'm not unconscious or anything."

All the time he wasn't speaking, Veronica could ignore the fact that it was _him_ she was looking after. The moment he opened his mouth all she could hear was the sound of her heart beat increasing, all she could see was the desire on his face as he had pulled her in for that second kiss. All she could feel was the heat as his lips had closed over hers and his teeth had nibbled gently at her bottom lip.

Dropping his hand as though touching him burned her, she stood up, staggering unsteadily for a moment before moving to lean against the wall for support. "I can't do this, Logan. I don't know what I was thinking coming here."

Logan sat up, cradling his stinging hand to his chest, staring in amazement at Veronica's back as she, for the second time in one day, walked away from him. This wasn't the Veronica he knew and loved to taunt. This Veronica was someone unfamiliar to him. The girl he knew would never walk away from a challenge, she thrived on them, lived for them. "Ronnie, wait…" he called after her, getting to the front of the house just in time to see the Le Baron kick up a spray of gravel as she sped down the driveway.


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: All characters from Rob Thomas' creation that you recognise are his property, and the property of the WB.

She was becoming the Queen of Avoidance City. Every time she saw Logan heading in her direction she would find an excuse to walk the other way.

She could see that Wallace was curious, and if it weren't for the fact she knew Wallace had a distinct dislike for Logan, she might well tell him what happened. As it was, she had no one to confide in but the cold screen of her computer, and that was unsatisfactory when what she really needed was someone telling her that she wasn't insane, that what had happened was a glitch, a mere blip on the insanity radar.

_If he keeps on looking at me then I might well have to…_ she paused in her typing to take a swig from the steaming cup of coffee beside the keyboard, she then held her finger over the _delete_ key and deleted the sentence. The last thing she needed right now was to think about that kiss again. She was trying to forget about that, not reminisce about it.

Looking at the clock she groaned, it was nearly 2am and she had classes in the morning. She had been procrastinating over completing an assignment, but right now she wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and pull the covers up over her head, and perhaps sleep away the next few uncomfortable weeks. That was how long she had given it to blow over. She was sure that all they both needed was some distance.

Dropping down onto her bed, pulling the cold covers over her heated skin, Veronica rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, images of Logan as his face had moved closer, the intense look in his eyes as he had kissed her, filling her mind. It was a long time before she drifted into a disturbed, dream-filled sleep.

It had been two days since _the kiss_ but still, walking into the journalism classroom was probably the hardest thing that Veronica had had to do. She knew that Logan was in there, she had been watching as everyone entered the room, wondering if perhaps she shouldn't just ditch the class and do a bit of snooping. Perhaps she should go and see what she could find out about Duncan's disappearance, anything rather than face the one person she was currently trying to avoid like the plague.

The way he was staring at her, the half-smile on his face, made Veronica feel as though he were seeing right through her. She kept on trying to ignore him, but every once in a while she was drawn to him, watching his hands as he twirled a pencil, chatting with the person sitting behind him.

She turned her back on the rest of the students in the class and focused intently on the text appearing on her screen as she typed in the newest in a series of possibly scandal-provoking articles. She was absolutely desperate to ignore the fact that she wasn't alone, that _he_ was less than 2 metres away from her. She hated feeling uneasy, and hated even more that it was Logan making her feel this way. If he even had an inkling of an idea that he could make her feel so unsure of herself she was sure that she would never hear the end of it.

"We need to talk…" he said the words as he walked past her to leave the classroom, placing his hand on her shoulder briefly, brushing her hair away from the back of her neck, but he hadn't even paused, just said the words and left. Even though she had known that the time would come at some point, the words sent a shiver down her spine; caused her stomach to churn uncomfortably.

It was nearly seven when Veronica finally pulled up outside the Echolls' mansion, her hands were shaking and she hadn't been able to eat a thing. Normally she thrived on confrontation, enjoying telling people what she had learned, but right now this was the last place she wanted to be. Doing a post mortem on something when she hadn't had the chance to figure out the why or how just didn't add up to fun.

Logan was playing a game on his computer, seemingly 100% involved in whatever was happening on the widescreen TV. An open bottle of vodka was on the floor beside his chair and it was easy to see that he had already had a few glasses. A deck of playing cards were open and laid out on the card table as though he was expecting some friends over for one of his famous games later, she couldn't help but wonder which movie hunk of the week would be the latest target for Logan's card shark act.

"So," she stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, and a faint grin on her face – desperate to hide her minor anxiety, "I'm here. You wanted to talk…"

Logan hadn't been completely honest. He didn't actually think they needed to talk, to go over and over what had happened at the Camelot until it made sense to both of them. He knew what had happened. He had kissed Veronica Mars. A few days of going over and over the incident in his head had made it apparent that he had _wanted_ that kiss. It's possible he had wanted it for quite a while, and while that may seem completely left of centre, he knew that he was going to kiss her again.

Smirking in a way that reminded Veronica of the boy Logan used to be, before Lilly had been murdered and she had been ostracised, he dropped the gamepad in his hands and stood up, walking over to stand in front of her. "Talking is overrated," he mumbled even as he lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers.

Veronica opened her mouth to protest, but whatever she might have said was lost to a sigh as Logan's tongue brushed against hers, his hands curling around her hips even as she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.


	3. Part 3

Disclaimer: All characters from Rob Thomas' creation that you recognise are his property, and the property of the WB.

~*~ 

If there was one thing Veronica knew without a doubt it was that she could not, would not, allow herself to get distracted by Logan Echolls. Sure, there was no denying that he could kiss like a dream, but he was also Lilly's ex-boyfriend, jealous, possessive and a possible suspect in her mysterious murder. Ignoring his involvement with Lilly there was still the fact that he was also Duncan's best friend and she was still trying to get over the fact that she still had no idea why he had broken up with her so abruptly, and then of course there was Leo!

When you stripped away all the flaws; the sociopathic tendencies, the narcissistic characteristics and the awful friends there was still no denying that there was something strangely likeable about Logan, but Veronica was not going to get involved; the further she managed to stay away from him, the better. She had no idea why, but the moment she got near him all her reasons for avoiding him seemed to vanish into the ether and there was really far too much for her to do to let this continue.

Logan was sitting on the hood of the Le Baron when Veronica got out of her last class. "We've really got to stop meeting like this, Logan," she managed to joke as she gave him a wide berth while unlocking the driver door.

"Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie," Logan stood up and opened the door for her, proving that even when he was being a boil on her ass he didn't forget his manners, "If I didn't know you better I would swear that you were avoiding me."

"Well no one would ever accuse you of that, would they?" She smirked as she sat down and pulled the door shut, narrowly missing slamming his fingers in the door. "I know that I have said this before, but this time I really do mean it. This can't go anywhere."

Logan exhaled loudly and made a show of scratching his eyebrow contemplatively, "when did I ever give you the impression that I wanted anything from you?" He grinned in the way that made Veronica want to slap him stupid but she resisted the urge, instead turning the key in the ignition. "Speak to you later, Veronica," he called after her before walking over and jumping into the Xterra.

He took his time driving home; the last thing he wanted was another confrontation with his father about absolutely nothing. His mother had been a buffer between their clashing personalities for years, and now that she was no longer around – something he blamed his father for completely – tensions in the Echolls' household were incredibly high. For the last few nights he had been successful in avoiding his father altogether; coming in later and later, or staying at overnight with Dick and Beaver, but his luck wasn't going to hold forever.

He took a detour along the beach and sat on the sand for a while watching the waves, before getting back in the 4x4 and heading into town. Spying Veronica's beat-up car outside her father's office he fought the urge to pop in and see her; she was a conundrum, and one that he was determined to solve but checking his watch showed that it was getting late and his war with Weevil was making downtown Neptune at night a dangerous place for him to be.

He was pulling away from the curb when he noticed Veronica walking out of the building, and she wasn't alone. He could see that whoever it was had his arm around her but it wasn't until they stood together under the streetlight beside Veronica's car that Logan recognised him; Officer Leo, the cop who had arrested him a few days before. Feeling fury course through him when Veronica, that duplicitous bitch, leaned up and brushed a kiss across Officer Leo's lips, he curled his hands tightly around the steering wheel. Wanting her to know that he had seen her, he revved his engine a few times before pulling away with a squeal of tyres, pleased when he saw Veronica flush darkly as she recognised him and his car.

With not a small amount of guilt roiling in her stomach like an assiduous tapeworm, Veronica felt as though she were on automatic pilot as she sat through just over 90 minutes of Sandra Bullock pretending to be a ditzy beauty queen, her hand occasionally straying into the tub of popcorn that Leo had sprung for after a meal that had been peppered with infrequent and uncomfortably stilted conversation. It was obvious that Leo wanted to ask her what was wrong, but she was not keen to broach the subject of Logan Echolls and their strange association, not while she was still trying to figure it all out for herself.

With an expression of regret on her face Veronica allowed Leo to escort her to her apartment door and, using the excuse that her father was waiting for her inside – a fact that she knew would hurry Leo's departure anyway – she bussed a kiss across his cheek. "I'll call you," she told him, though even to her own ears the promise was empty.

"I had fun, Veronica," he told her, a smile fixed on his face; he wasn't stupid, he knew that the chances of her calling for anything other than case information were slim to none, but while it had lasted it had been fun. He slowly walked out of the apartment complex and, with shoulders slightly slumped, headed back in the direction of his car.

The next day at school Veronica was less than surprised that Logan was giving her the cold shoulder. She knew that she had earned this attitude, though she had to admit that his hot and cold behaviour was confusing. That it appeared he was feeling slighted by the fact that she had been on a date with someone else baffled her; it wasn't as though she had ever admitted that there was anything between them, any kind of commitment or need for fidelity – they weren't dating! At lunch she sat at her usual table across from Wallace, and ignoring the weight of Logan's glare at her back she managed to maintain a conversation – though if asked she would have no idea what it was they had spoken about. "V, you okay?" Wallace finally asked her when they were packing up to head into Mr Daniels' English class. "You seem a bit, I don't know…distracted?"

"No, everything's fine," she shrugged, hefting her bag up onto her shoulder, "now, are you ready to open your mind to the wonder of Henry James?"

Eager to avoid being picked on in Mr Daniels' usual question and answer session at the end of the class, Veronica made her way to the back of the classroom, purposely taking a seat right in the middle, in full view. For some reason Daniels always picked the students who tried to fade into the background, as though he knew they were staying out of his line of sight so they didn't have to do any work.

For the first time since _the kiss_ class was uninterrupted by whispers and the awareness that someone was staring at her, and though she wouldn't admit it aloud Veronica was missing it. She considered actually speaking to Logan, but she quickly disabused herself of the idea; she didn't owe him any kind of explanation about anything, in fact if she owed anyone anything at all it was Leo.

Logan had been waiting to talk to Veronica all day and it was killing him; he had been playing it cool and he could tell that she was now living under the misapprehension that he was just going to let it go. He had ignored her during classes, only stared at her briefly while at lunch and had purposely avoided walking anywhere near her locker; in fact, he had given every impression of someone who didn't even know that Veronica Mars existed. Unfortunately for him, the knowledge that she had actually been going out on dates with someone else seethed under the surface like poison slowly and stealthily working its way through an unaware victim.

Sadly all Logan's best intentions to appear casual went out the window when Veronica grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the girls' bathroom, pushing the large, and full, garbage bin in front of it to ensure privacy.

Touching him was nothing short of insanity and yet she did it anyway. She grasped him by the frayed collar of his green t-shirt and found that all her good intentions vanished.


	4. Part 4

Disclaimer: All characters from Rob Thomas' creation that you recognise are his property, and the property of the WB.

There was definitely something wrong with her. Veronica went through the rest of the day in something of a daze, thoughts whirring around in her head as she tried to figure out what she had been thinking attacking Logan like that. She had to admit that the sweetness of _Skittles_ on his questing tongue combined with the sensation of his hands curved around her waist had been somewhat intoxicating.

After school she stopped by the offices briefly to pick-up Backup – careful not to say more than a 'hi' and 'bye' to her dad – and then headed straight to the beach. The busy esplanade, overrun with skaters, cyclists and dog walkers, would provide her with the perfect place to drown at the thoughts that were buzzing around frantically in her head, desperate for attention.

Walking along the beach with Backup tugging enthusiastically at his leash trying to get away from his meandering owner, she wasn't at all surprised when Logan walked up the beach, hair dripping wet, surfboard under his arm. He fell easily into step with her, wrapping an arm around her waist and leaning in to press a light kiss to the curve where shoulder met neck. "Want some company?" he asked her, a relaxed smile on his face. It was apparent he had been surfing and was still appreciating the benefit of the adrenaline rush it gave him.

Veronica took a deep breath and ignored her first instinct, to lean into his caress and enjoy it. She had to admit that she liked the way that the weight of his arm felt around her, and there was something about the forbidden aspect of whatever this was which sent shivers up her spine. "I wouldn't say no," she responded, though even as she answered his question she realised that this probably wasn't the best idea; they were somewhere public where anyone could see them. She had no idea why, but ignoring the fact that he may or may not be a murderer, a liar and just a bit on the psychotic side, he was fun to be around – when you weren't the target of his often cruel teasing.

Shrugging and brushing the hand around her waist with her own, she brushed a kiss against his cheek and then continued to walk along the beach in the direction of the dog park where she could let an energetic Backup off his leash to get rid of some of that excess energy. So long as no one saw them together everything would be fine.

They walked until the sun moved behind a cloud and the air started to chill with the promise of rain. Veronica shivered a little when they sat down on a bench to watch the last few determined surfers who seemed to be out no matter the weather.

"So…" Logan started, turning on the bench to study her in the last rays of the days' sun.

"So…" Veronica responded, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and exposed, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"How are we going to play this?" He was definitely not someone who pulled their punches, even if he was someone who was known for playing games – but only when they benefited him.

"I hadn't realised we were playing anything…" _Except for dumb_, Veronica chastised herself; they were both playing a rather dangerous game, him with his reputation and her with the investigation into Lilly's murder that she was trying to pretend she wasn't doing.

"You've been playing games with me for a while," Logan told her, smiling as he tenderly brushed a stray tendril away from her face. "I know you like the chase but…" He didn't get a chance to finish, his words cut off as he was tugged roughly from the bench by his collar, the sound of the material ripping punctuating his few choked gasps for breath.

"How many times do I gotta tell you to stay away from here, Echolls? Was the last beating not enough for ya?" Weevil was laying it on a bit thick, but he was clearly angry that an 09er was somewhere he didn't belong. That the 09er happened to be Logan Echolls made the threat that much more enjoyable.

"Didn't realise you owned the beach," Logan goaded, even as Weevil's grip on his throat visibly tightened. "When did the price drop down to under a dollar?"

Sucking in a breath Veronica couldn't help wishing that Logan would occasionally keep his mouth shut. In situations like this he was definitely his own worst enemy. "Logan, just shut up," she told him, it was obvious to even the most casual observer that Weevil was itching for a fight and determined not to lose face in front of the rest of the PCHers. Logan, and his status as a spoilt 09er was never going to earn him any fans in Weevil's gang.

"Come on now, Ronnie, when have I ever listened to advice from anyone?" With his trademark smirk in place he curled his left hand into a fist and let fly.

Unfortunately Logan was great at all the talk, but his over-entitled upbringing had never prepared him for the sort of dirty fighting that the PCHers thrived on. The minute his fist made contact with Weevil's nose and the bone cracked beneath the impact, it was a free-for-all and Logan found himself at the bottom of a pile of fists and feet.

Furious beyond belief that she had to actually use Backup to protect him when he was obviously on some kind of self-destruct mission she waited until Weevil and his friends had mounted their bikes and ridden away before helping a cut and bruised Logan back to the LeBaron, there was no way he would be able to get himself home.

Logan sat patiently on the toilet in Veronica's bathroom as she carefully applied antiseptic to the rather nasty cut on his upper lip. She dabbed a little more gently when he sucked in a breath and attempted to bat her hands away. "That stings," he informed her, even as he leaned further into her touch.

"Don't be such a baby," she rebuked, "you brought this upon yourself." She applied a little cream to the deep slash through his eyebrow and rubbed it in a little more roughly than necessary. "Here," she handed him the antiseptic-soaked cotton ball when he winced and sucked in another sharp breath, "you can do the rest yourself."

"But you're such a good nurse," he pouted, even as he stood up to look in the mirror over the sink and finish the rest of the clean-up. "I think that I may just have to sue," he used one of the Band-Aids in the small first aid kit on the deepest cut over his eye, studying his reflection. "That shit has totally destroyed any chance I had at a modelling career."

At this declaration Veronica was unable to hold back a bark of laughter, "You're lucky it was just that he destroyed rather than a chance at any sort of career. If I hadn't been there with Backup you would have ended up in hospital." She had seen the sort of damage that Weevil and his friends could do; sure she liked the biker but that didn't mean she was oblivious to the sort of person he was, or that she trusted him.

"Aww, Veronica Mars, is that concern I hear in your voice?" He finished packing away the supplies she had used on his face and handed her the small kit, watching with little surprise as she placed it back in her schoolbag; she could always be guaranteed to be prepared for almost any situation.

"Once you've put your shirt back on I will drive you back to your car," she knew that being alone with him in such a small space was tantamount to signing up for a lecture on sex from her dad.

"Are you scared of being alone with me?" The tone was jokey, but Veronica could see that Logan was really curious. She knew that he was aware she was dating someone else, but that hadn't stopped either of them, as yet, from getting up close and personal with each other. She really needed to keep her distance until she had mastered the skill of self-control.

"Of course not," she scoffed even as she was backing out of the claustrophobic bathroom and walking back out into the open lounge. She sat down on the couch and picked up the local newspaper, reading through the front page headline a few times before giving up and simply flicking through the pages looking at the pictures.

"Prove it then," Logan told her, tugging on his jacket as he walked into the lounge, wincing as the cut on his lip protested his usual grin. He sat down on the couch beside her and tugged her onto his lap, gently cupping her chin and tilting her head for a kiss which stole her breath and sent her pulse racing in mere moments.

For all Logan's appalling qualities – his childish temper tantrums, his mood swings and his vicious tongue – Veronica couldn't deny he was a very good kisser. She speared her fingers in his short hair and tugged him closer when he would have pulled away to take a breath. Without breaking the kiss she somehow managed to move onto his lap, wrapping her legs around his hips and rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat.

She was so involved in their kiss; the sensation of his hands rubbing her back and his teeth lightly nibbling at her bottom lip that she didn't hear the slam of the front door as her dad walked into the apartment. She barely avoided blacking Logan's other eye when she felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump in shock. She quickly moved back to the other side of the sofa and though any attempt at pleading innocence would fall on deaf ears for obvious reasons, she placed her hands in her lap and did her best to smile. "Dad, I thought that you were staying at the office late this evening."

The wry expression on her dad's face was anything but surprised, "I didn't think that this was the welcome you had intended for me, Veronica." His tone was less than impressed and Veronica could see that he was restraining himself from reaching for Logan and forcing him to vacate the apartment.

Logan didn't have a very astute sense of self-preservation but he knew better than to say anything to defend himself right now. Keith Mars seemed like a very calm man, in fact it was something that most had admired about him when he was Sheriff, that and his feelings about justice but none of those people had threatened his daughter, or done anything else with them. He gulped when the gun at Keith's hip was briefly flashed when Veronica wasn't looking. "I guess I should be going…see you at school on Monday." He edged towards the door, feeling like a bit of a coward but he had already suffered one beating today for being in the wrong place and he was starting to feel every single one of those bruises. He picked up the keys to Veronica's car as he headed to the front door. His grin firmly in place – though it didn't quite meet his eyes – he dangled them as he told her, "I'll get someone to bring this back to you tomorrow."

In moments he was gone, the door closed firmly behind him. As the lock clicked into place Veronica slumped back on the couch and waited for her dad's lecture to begin, she could see from the way that he moved to the fridge and got himself a bottle of beer that he was not happy and was going to make sure that she was fully aware of this fact. 


	5. Part 5

**Disclaimer:** These characters are not mine; they are the property of Rob Thomas and the WB.

**Author's Note:** No, you aren't seeing things, this is a new chapter. I am sorry that it's taken so long but if you check out my profile you will see that I haven't been quiet on the writing front; unfortunately, LoVe weren't shouting loud enough to be heard over the other voices in my head.

* * *

Veronica sat on the couch and waited for her dad to explode; she could see that he was less than impressed with her right now and she knew that the explosion wasn't going to be long in coming. "Dad, let me…"

"Don't push it right now, Veronica," Keith told her, sitting down at the table and cracking open a beer and taking a long pull from it before looking over at her. "I will let you know when I am ready to hear you speak."

Veronica slumped back against the plump cushions and sighed loudly; she hadn't expected her dad to react quite like this, surely he knew that she was no angel; did he think that she'd dated Duncan for all that time without a few snogging sessions on horizontal surfaces?

"I get that you're a hormonal teenager, Veronica, but I really could do without seeing the evidence of that in the apartment." He pulled a bag of chips from the cupboard over the stove and tore them open before sitting down at the counter. "Logan Echolls? What were you thinking?"

Sighing again she refused to meet his eyes as she struggled to figure out what she could tell him; given that she had _no_ idea about what was going on herself how was she meant to explain it to her dad? The whole thing with Logan was almost inexplicable, there was no sense to any of it yet she couldn't deny there was something there; after all he was the high school asshole and she was the school outcast. Instead of answering she simply shrugged and muttered, "I don't know."

"Just go to bed," he released a breath slowly and loudly, watching as she pushed herself up from the couch and walked to her bedroom, slamming the door loudly behind her. God save him from emotional teenagers; something he had been so sure he'd escaped with his daughter! He refused to get maudlin so pulled out the notes on his latest case and started to read through them, making a few amendments to what he had written before pushing the file away and finishing the final mouthfuls of his now warm beer. He knew that Veronica was a teenager and that she had likely done more than kissed Duncan while they had been dating, but he had never had to witness it.

Veronica woke up early the next morning and, definitely in the mood to avoid awkward confrontations with her dad, took a few snack bars from the cupboard and sneaked out of the apartment barefoot, slipping on her sneakers at the front door before sending a text to Wallace: _Can you give me a ride? No car._ She went down and sat by the pool, her eyes closed against the early morning sunshine and contemplating all the things that she could have said to her dad had she given more than a moment's thought to what he wanted to hear as she normally did.

"No car huh, Mars?" Veronica started when Wallace asked the question. "I didn't think you'd ever let that heap out of your sight." He sat down on the lounger next to hers and ignored the glare she threw in his direction.

"No car," she confirmed, turning her head to grin at him. "Shall we?" Getting up from the lounger she reached a hand out and tugged Wallace to his feet. "Come on, I need a ride to get my car."

The drive was made in virtual silence after she told him where he needed to get to; he tried not to judge, but it was difficult. "Echolls?" He couldn't keep the disbelief from his voice. "You were caught with Echolls?" He stopped the car outside the impressive gates of Logan's house and revved the engine a few times when Veronica got out of the car and went over to press the buzzer.

"Don't judge, Wallace," she told him as she leaned in through the passenger window to retrieve her bag. "Or I'll share _all _the details." She smirked at him as he shuddered.

"Man, you're cruel, Veronica Mars. Cruel!" He drove away as the large security gates started to slowly open, leaving her to make her way up the long driveway to the house.

Walking up the drive she was aware of the reporters and fans who hovered by the gates on a daily basis waiting to catch even a glimpse of Aaron Echolls or any of his family; they were like wolves, and any sign of scandal had them baying at the moon. "I don't think so," she muttered as she lifted her bag to hide her face from one of the more eager photographers and continued her hurried walk towards the pool house.

After knocking on the patio doors a couple of times she took a step back and waited for Logan to answer; she could see him sitting on his bed playing a game on the _PlayStation_, his attention completely on the widescreen TV on the wall. Knocking again with the side of her fist she didn't stop until he finally turned to look and, with a welcoming grin on his face he slid open the doors and pulled her into the room. "Well, well, well, Veronica Mars. I didn't expect to see you hear quite so early this morning." He leaned down and brushed a light kiss across her cheek.

"Yeah…well you have my car," she told him, pushing him away and leaning back against the wall.

He placed a hand on his chest and affected a hurt expression. "I'm crushed, Mars. I could have sworn you wanted to see me."

With a smile on her lips she walked over and sat down on the edge of his bed, watching, fascinated as he moved around the room picking up and studying small objects then putting them down; he was like a moth flickering against a lightbulb. "Well you've never been known to be that aware of anything, Echolls," she informed him.

Bored with being inquisitive, Logan bounced down on the bed, almost dislodging her from her seat. He grabbed her and pulled her down to lie beside him, wrapping his arms around her and tugging her against him. "So what really brought you here, Mars? I don't believe it's only the car, I said I'd get it back to you." He leaned over the small gap between them and rubbed his nose against hers before taking her lips in a gentle kiss.

His gentleness made her feel uneasy; she wasn't used to seeing this side of Logan and the unfamiliarity of it was enough to have butterflies going nuts in her stomach. She closed her eyes and responded to his touch by resting one hand on his shoulder and pulling him closer. "You are a total enigma, Logan Echolls," she told him, before kissing him again. She slipped her hand slowly beneath his thin cotton shirt and was slowly massaging the muscles of his back when she noticed the reflection of a camera flash on the TV screen. With a gasp she jerked away from him and bolted off the bed, feeling exposed and violated; she couldn't believe that someone had been watching them and taken photos. "Are you okay with that? Someone just took a photo."

"Seriously Mars, it happens all the time, and it's not as though you need to hide this," at that he waved his hand between them both to signify what _this_ he meant, "anymore. They'd all find out eventually." By everyone she knew he meant Duncan; and she knew that he was right, but that didn't mean she had to like it; after all she would be the one who would likely experience the worst of the glares and whispers in the school corridors. Everyone knew that Logan Echolls was a playboy; everyone knew that he and Lilly had enjoyed an open relationship, but she would not be given the same level of understanding and that was a core reason for her trying to keep this a secret and keep her distance.

"Can I have my keys?" She held out her hand, figuring that her best course right now was to make a hasty retreat.

"At some point, Mars, we are going to have to talk about this, you can't keep on running away." He handed over the keys and pulled the door open. As she walked passed him he grabbed her by the wrist. "I may as well," he muttered as he pressed his lips to hers and backed her up against the wall.

Breathless, Veronica finally pushed him away; her mind was a little bit fuzzy and her face a little flushed. "Well, I'll see you around, Echolls," she told him, her voice a little breathless.

Logan watched her as she walked away; once she turned the corner to the carport where guest cars were always parked, he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, and glared in the direction of the bushes; "Okay Dick, hand it over…"


End file.
